“Nobody Wins on Immigration” Means Democratic Debacle

I can’t help but laugh. The media loves to talk about problems the Republicans are facing. Whatever the issue, it’s the Republicans who are in trouble. Even Democratic scandals always seem to have a “this could hurt the Republicans” silver lining. But every once in awhile we get an issue where the MSM tells us, this time “nobody wins.” To translate that from MSM speak, that means total debacle for Democrats. The latest example is immigration reform.

Right now, the MSM is awash in articles warning us that “nobody wins on immigration.” The Democrats will have a hard time with this issue, we are told, because they are trapped between a rock and a hard place. But rest assured, the Republicans are in just as much trouble because. . . well. . . because.

The rock the Democrats are facing is the wave of Hispanic activists who are threatening to stay home if nothing is done to grant amnesty to all illegal aliens. And no, that’s not an overstatement. Some of these activists speak in the media about protecting “the rights” of illegals or they try to focus just on Hispanic Americans who they claim will be threatened by “xenophobia” and “racial profiling.” But most activists aren’t as careful. Most talk openly of amnesty -- as anyone who has seen any of their rallies or heard any of their speeches or seen any of their interviews can attest. They want total, immediate amnesty. And like all other Democratic interest groups, they won’t be satisfied with any substitute promises. They want it all and they want it now. Which is why they began issuing public threats a couple weeks back that they would stay at home if the Democrats didn’t act now.

The hard place the Democrats face is the American public. No matter which poll you look at, around 70% of the public opposes amnesty. In fact, they don’t just oppose it, they hate it. And that figure typically includes around 40% of Hispanics.

Interestingly, blacks are even more upset about illegal immigration than the rest of America. A full 66% of blacks support building a wall between the US and Mexico, 60% want to impose stiff penalties on employers who hire illegals, and 56% view this as a major issue. (They see Hispanics as a direct economic threat.)

Thus, the Democrats face this Homerian dilemma of Scylla and Charybdis. If they don’t pass an amnesty, they will lose their Hispanic support, which translates into roughly 9% of the population -- which would doom them in many districts, even in liberal leaning states. But if they do act, they risk alienating 60% of the public, even many liberals, which will doom them everywhere.

What’s more, their usual tricks won’t work. They will be inclined to split the baby, by passing “tough immigration reform” that provides meaningless gestures to both sides. But neither side is in the mood to accept meaningless gestures. Moreover, even if the Democrats include a “stealth amnesty,” Democratic activists have shown that they aren’t smart enough to see what they’ve been given and shut the hell up. They will instead protest that they got what they wanted, just not openly enough for their tastes.

Thus, the Democrats not only can’t satisfy both sides at once, they can’t avoid angering somebody no matter what they do. . . even if they do nothing. Sounds like a total loser for the Democrats.

But what about those poor Republicans. This is a “nobody wins” scenario after all, right? Well, to believe that, you need to pretend that you didn’t read what you just read, i.e. you need to forget that the public is overwhelmingly opposed to illegal immigration. Because the case for the Republicans being hurt is that “the public” will see them as “extremists and xenophobes” and will be turned off by their anti-immigrant stance.

Of course, this stupid argument flies in the face of the one before it. If the public is so overwhelming opposed to illegal immigration that the Democrats are in trouble, then the public isn’t going to be turned off by the Republicans opposing illegal immigration. In fact, the only people this will offend are the Democratic activists (and journalists) who already despise the Republicans. Oh no! Moreover, looking at the numbers for blacks, this issue isn’t even going to resonate with them because majorities of them actually agree with the Republicans on this issue.

Further, the public has shown in poll after poll that they clearly distinguish between the issues of immigration and illegal immigration. Unless the Republicans start bashing all immigrants, which they won’t, there is little danger that anyone outside of liberal news rooms will see the Republicans as xenophobes.

Basically, there is no way this issue hurts Republicans. So when you see the next article that talks about this being a no winner or which tries to find the silver lining for Democrats, just chuckle at the mental contortions the journalist had to go through to reach the conclusion they wanted.